Will blogs transform the nature of legal services?
Friday, January 26, 2007
Movanet
It has been an honour that political analyst Fatih Syuhud reviewed this blog in his "blog of the week" feature. Here's a quote:
Not only that the law is difficult to understand for lay people, it is also expensive and not reliable. Am I right or am I wrong? In theory, the law is created for the people, and not the other way around. Is there any way to bring the law closer to the people?
It is possible. Ever heard of "Law 2.0"? Click it if you are curious. Blog is a part of Law 2.0. Blogs can make legal services faster, better and cheaper. How?
Some non-law students are just reluctant to read anything to do with law because the writer uses too rigid a language which is hardly understood by non-law student...
The stark substantial differences between modern people and "primitive" ones is not about the physical appearances, it's about how thirsty we are to acquire new knowledge and information, which are ups for grabs in front us. Al Afghani's blog content is one of those information that we should read regularly and joyfully to quench our thirst of knowledge just in case you are one of those modern and civilized persons.
Not only that the law is difficult to understand for lay people, it is also expensive and not reliable. Am I right or am I wrong? In theory, the law is created for the people, and not the other way around. Is there any way to bring the law closer to the people?
It is possible. Ever heard of "Law 2.0"? Click it if you are curious. Blog is a part of Law 2.0. Blogs can make legal services faster, better and cheaper. How?
- Collaboration. My researches and blog posts may be useful for the legal people. They can cite, improve and edit my article to create a legal memo. No need to do another research. There is no use reeinventing the wheel
- Better scrutinies. If you write a legal analysis alone and put in your desktop, only you and probably your partner knows if you made any mistakes. But if you publish it online, maybe other lawyers or me would be able to comment should you make errors, vice versa
- Niche-creation. If there are too many law blogs (US has so many legal blogs), bloggers will start creating niche content to attract visitors. This is positive for legal specialization
- Blogs will give opportunities for small and boutique lawfirms or even solo career lawyers. In light of regional autonomy, this is very good
There are barriers to these possibilities: (i) slow internet connection, (ii) reluctancy to write, (iii) fear in giving away opinions, (iv) materialism. Point iv is really something outdated, if you read Time's 2006 man of the year.